It was April 3, 2008 to be exact, and looking back now, three years later, it is hard for me to believe how much in my life has changed. It was a Thursday, and I won’t recount the story here because most of you have heard it several times. If you haven’t, it involves a canceled flight to Little Rock, a broken car window, and a police report for my stolen handbag (which was never recovered), so ask me if you’re interested.

It was the night I got engaged.

It was also a night that changed my life forever. For the next 19 months (yes, I said 19 months), we planned our wedding, and in the 16 months or so since we said “I do,” I’m blessed to say it just keeps getting better.

To my husband Marlin,

I’m convinced that God always knew you would be a husband one day and He spent your entire life preparing you for the role (enter two baby sisters). It’s the only explanation I can come up with for why you are just so good at it. You’re my best friend, my constant supporter and most enthusiastic fan, my personal chef, my sense of reality and grounding when I get overwhelmed (not that that ever happens), my strong arm when I can’t open the pickle jar, and my 24/7 entertainment (I write this as you are singing in the kitchen while deciding on breakfast and making your cup of coffee).

You’ve been a better husband than anything I ever could have imagined, and I am so blessed to be loved by you. You really do know me better than I know myself…which reminds me, I’ve got to work on being more mysterious. You bring so much joy and laughter into my life, and when I start taking myself too seriously (again, not that this ever happens), you remind me that sometimes you’ve just got to be a kid again. You bring out the very best sides of me, you always shun the spotlight so it shines on me instead, and you never let me forget that you’re always on my side…no matter what.

Thank you for taking that leap of faith three years ago. You make me strive to a better wife, a better partner, a better friend. And I know the best is yet to come.

This is Mount Bonnell, the highest point in Austin, where we got engaged three years ago. My perfect man, a diamond ring and this view? It was a no-brainer!